251 - What Is a Gerund?
What Is a Gerund?
Episodes
Grammar Girl Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing
Five-time winner of Best Education Podcast in the Podcast Awards. Grammar Girl provides short, friendly tips to improve your writing and feed your love of the English language. Whether English is your first language or your second language, these grammar, punctuation, style, and business tips will make you a better and more successful writer. Grammar Girl is a Quick and Dirty Tips podcast.
Episodes
391 GG Scrabble Words
A fun romp through some quirky words you may see when you're playing Scrabble. Remember to check out my new game, Grammar Pop, for your iPhone or iPad.
390 - Passive Voice
Avoid one of the biggest passive voice mistakes!
389 GG English Plurals: Wugs and Blicks
Your subconscious controls how you speak. We show why you already know how to make imaginary words such as "wugs" and "blicks" plural. Try the new iPad and iPhone grammar game, Grammar Pop. It's in the App Store.
388 GG Style Sheets
Don't make the mistake of treating your style sheet like a style guide. The new grammar game, Grammar Pop, is now available for the iPhone. Look for it in the App Store and try it today!
387 GG "Because" as a Preposition
What's up with sentences such as I didn't do my homework because Skyrim? Try Grammar Girl's new iPad and iPhone game: Grammar Pop.
386 - Negation in Night Vale
Welcome to Night Vale: Where even “not” isn’t what it seems.
117 - Biweekly Versus Semiweekly
Why "biweekly" can have multiple legitimate meanings. Check out the new word game Grammar Pop in the App Store: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/grammar-pop-hd/id666851934?mt=8&uo=4&at=11l7m5
385 - Irony
More than five different types of irony? No wonder it's confusing! Guest writer Keith Houston, author of "Shady Characters: The Secret Life of Punctuation, Symbols, and other Typographical Marks" helps us figure out irony.
384 - Homophones
Which English homophones came from polysemy and which came from spelling variation? Try our new iPad game, Grammar Pop. If you like the Grammar Girl podcast, you'll love the game.
383 GG Could Care Less
An excerpt from Bill Walsh's book "Yes, I Could Care Less."
50 GG Like Versus As
Find out which of these words is a preposition and which is a conjunction. Try Grammar Girl's new iPad game called Grammar Pop. You match words with their part of speech to pop clouds. You can also find Grammar Girl's books at http://j.mp/allGGbooks
381 GG Prepositions
The fascinating history of English prepositions (yes, really). If you are trying to learn about prepositions, try Grammar Girl's new iPad game called Grammar Pop. You match words with their part of speech, including prepositions. You can also find Grammar Girl's books at http://j.mp/allGGbooks
380 GG Participles and Gerunds
Prove you know your parts of speech with the new iPad game Grammar Pop. You don't have to know the difference between participles and gerunds to play, but if you're up to the challenge, it's there waiting for you! Look for Grammar Pop in the App Store.
379 GG Apostrophes in Science Fiction and Fantasy Names
Who started it and why? Get Grammar Girl's books at http://j.mp/allGGbooks
378 GG Apostrophes and Plurals
Learn how to use apostrophes by pondering a Victoria's Secret ad. Buy Grammar Girl's books: http://j.mp/allGGbooks
377 GG Royal "We"
In honor of the new royal baby, more formally known as Prince George Alexander Louis, we're pondering a pompous pronoun choice known as the "royal we." Buy Grammar Girl's books at http://j.mp/allGGbooks.
376 GG Why Do We Have Both A and An?
How English evolved to give us two indefinite articles (a and an), and the odd mix of possessive pronouns that don't quite match. Buy Grammar Girl's books: http://j.mp/allGGbooks
375 GG What Is It Called When You Mishear Song Lyrics?
Spoonerisms, Mondegreens, Malapropisms, and Eggcorns. Like the podcast? See Grammar Girl's books: http://j.mp/allGGbooks
374 GG Rebracketing
How to Make Weird Product Names Plural
372 GG Retronyms
Retronyms: Scourge of the Language or Helpful Tool?
371 GG Commma Splice
How to Avoid a Common Comma Error: The Comma Splice
370 GG Why Isn't "Gruntled" A Word?
Why Aren't We Gruntled When We're Happy?
369 GG Why Does "I" Take Plural Verbs?
"I" is singular, so why do we say "I go" instead of "I goes"?
368 GG Hyphens
How to Use Hyphens.
367 GG The Old Editor Says
John E. McIntyre, a veteran editor at The Baltimore Sun, shares pithy editing maxims from his new book.
366 GG How Texting Is Changing English
How Texting Is Changing English
285 GG "Moot" Versus "Mute"
Moot isn't moot, but it can mean something different in Britain and the U.S.
365 GG The Language of Crime
The Language of Crime
364 GG Why Would Anyone Use "The Chicago Manual of Style"?
Style guides.